Fort Bayard Historic District · Photo: From the National Archives RG92-F-7-9 · Public domain39% of Santa Clara’s land is conserved: 493 acres
3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Santa Clara, 1.8 per square mile of land. 41 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents. 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Santa Clara?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Santa Clara have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Santa Clara is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Bataan Memorial Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
493 conserved acres
39% of Santa Clara’s land. Who manages Santa Clara’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ft. Bayard Mil. Res. Other National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 421 | Open |
| Bataan Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Las Cruces District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 33 | Open |
| Central Community Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
2 places to go in Santa Clara
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Santa Clara: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 57 | 64 | 71 | 79 | 89 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 73 | 62 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
April is the driest month (0.3 in) and June the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 3.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Santa Clara →
Questions about parks and trails in Santa Clara
Where can I hike in Santa Clara?
The longest trail networks: Bataan Memorial Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Santa Clara is conserved land?
39% of its land, against a typical 4% for a New Mexico town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Santa Clara’s trails?
Bataan Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Santa Clara?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Santa Clara?
71,088 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Santa Clara or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 473 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Santa Clara have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Santa Clara neighbors.
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →